Almost Cinderella
by ecologicalPanda
Summary: What if Percy wasn't the prince, but the pauper? If Annabeth was the princess, would they still fall in love? An almost classic Cinderella story. idk why i rated it T. should hopefully be better than the summary... :
1. From bad to worse

**Here's my second fic! So sorry if the characters are really OOC. Thalia and Nico are supposed to be though. By the way, I don't really know what time period it is, but they dress like we would even though there community and everything acts old fashion.**

**Disclaimer: Wish I could, but I own nothing PJO related or the whole Cinderella storyline. :(**

Percy's POV

Okay, don't cry. You need to be strong Percy. Pull it together. Come on, you're a prince for crying out loud!

It wasn't just me who was upset today though. The whole city of Atlantis was mourning King Poseidon's, a.k.a. my dad's, death. He had been stabbed to death in the middle of the night leaving my mother and me wondering who, and why, would have done it. My father was loved by all, well, except for Queen Athena. She reigned over our rival city, Athens.

I clutched my pen/sword, Riptide, a magical gift my father had left for me in his will, as my mother and I walked past old, rotting buildings on the outskirts of the city. The dusty lane we were taking was leaving a fine layer of dirt all over our old pants and shoes.

See, since my father was the one who came from royalty, my mother had no claim to the kingdom after his death. Even though he said for me to inherit the kingdom in his will, it was against the rules for me to claim it until I was 16. So, only being 11, my strict uncle Zeus got to rule Atlantis, as well as his own kingdom. This left my mother and me to fend for ourselves. You think we would have at least gotten a nice estate to live in until I was of age, right? Wrong. Instead, we were _banished_ from Atlantis. Zeus has had his eye on our kingdom for a while, and here was the perfect chance for him to take it.

So now we were on our way to the nearby rival city of Athens, where my new _step-dad_ Gabriel lived. From what some of the people at a local tavern said, his real name should be Smelly Gabe. They say that all he does is drink and waste money gambling. We hadn't planned moving in with him, but Zeus had had just enough time to play matchmaker and give Sally to Gabe. Yes_, giv__**e**__._ We had no say in any of this. The only perk was that Gabe had two children around my age. _Probably from past wives whose money he had spent gambling_, I thought laughing inwardly.

Anyways, my mom thought that we might as well except this. She was the best, always able to make the best out of things. Just being in the same room with her made you feel like nothing could go wrong. My father's death though, was the one thing that she couldn't find anything happy in.

"Percy honey, were at the entry gate. Make sure that if anyone says you look like Prince Perseus from Atlantis you deny it right away. Only the guards and Queen Athena herself know we are coming," my mother told me with a hint of sadness. My mother had never lived anywhere else before except for Atlantis.

I looked up and saw that we truly were at the entry gate. I had been so caught up in my own thoughts that I hadn't even noticed.

The gate was huge, surrounding the entire city with thick slabs of rock decorated with gray marble mosaics. Above the entry point of the main gate was a huge mosaic of an owl made up of some kind of brown rock that shone in the light, and was decorated with various jewels that portrayed it as nothing flashy, but still showed that they were a rich city. The big eyes of the owl seemed to be staring into the very depths of my soul, trying to figure out whether I was worthy of entering. Creepy, huh?

"Okay mom. Can we move a little faster though? I'm, uh, anxious to get inside . Oh hey, look! That guard in the white uniform is motioning to us. Weren't we supposed to meet someone in white?" I said, dragging my mom over to him.

"And you would be, well were, Queen Sally and Prince Perseus, right?" he said in a deep voice. "Yup, kid's got the greenest eyes I've ever seen. Gotta be Poseidon's kid. By the way, sorry about his death and getting kicked out all in the same day. Well, if you would just follow me this way, your new family's waiting for you just inside."

We skipped past the rest of the guards checking other traveler's luggage for potential threats. Waiting for us on the inside of the gate, had to have been the fattest man I had ever seen. In fact, I didn't even see that he had two kids with him, he was so fat. Fortunately though, they were skinnier, so I wasn't completely sickened. All of them had black hair, and seemed to wish that they were anywhere but waiting for us here.

"Well, I'll let you get a chance to know each other. Queen Sally, I'll need you to come with me to sign some paperwork," said the guard, as he led the only person I really knew away.

"So, you're supposed to be Prince Perseus" said Gabe, sneering my name like it was a bad disease.

"What's it to you?" I shot back. I instantly hated this guy. Who did he think he was?

"Watch it kid, like it or not, you and you're money are stuck with me."

That was all he cared about! My _money_? Well, he was in for a big wake up call.

"Oh, I'm sorry." I said, faking sympathy. "but, I don't get my inheritance until I'm 16. So guess what? My mom and I are both broke!"

"Wha….Why you little…" I swear that if I didn't have a ton of money coming towards me in a couple years, he would have killed me then and there.

"Fine, then. I can wait, but you better watch yourself, punk. Looks like Sally's done. I gotta go talk with her now that she's _mine_," he smirked. "By the way _Perseus_, these are my two kids, Thalia and Nico. Don't kill each other," he yelled as he started walking away.

Now that fatso Gabe was gone, I got a good look at his kids. Lets just hope that first impressions aren't always right.

For starters, Thalia dressed somewhere between a Goth and a normal girl. Her choppy hair fell to around her shoulders, and looked like she dyed it black with her own ink. Her clothes were something else. She wore black skinny jeans that had holes in WAY to many places, and her top was this weird tie-died think that looked like it had been cut and the tied back together all up the sides. She wore some basic dark makeup, but when she glared at me, it was enough to make me wish my mom was back here. She wore a silver chain bracelet, that for a second, I thought I saw a weird snake-women's head appear on it. She looked downright ferocious.

Nico, on the other hand, still looked scary, but somehow a lot mellower. He wore baggy black jeans, a black t-shirt with a big skull on it, and an avatar jacket. His dark hair looked like it had never seen a brush before, but it worked for him better than if he had actually brushed it. Under his eyes were dark bags, like he hadn't slept in days. He also had a creepy skull ring on, and, was that a black knife on his belt? He twisted away before I could tell.

"So, you're our step-bro now, huh?" Nico said, examining me now.

Thalia seemed to be doing the same, but she also seemed to be looking for my weak spots.

"Kind of wimpy, huh Nico? Look, he's even carrying a pen. What kind of _prince_ carries a pen?" she said, laughing.

"The kind that cares about their fathers last gift to them right after he dies," I shot back.

Honestly, I had forgotten about it, and realized that I was clutching Riptide so hard the cap almost came off.

"Oooh, scary. What are going to do? Write all over us?" Nico said, now laughing right along with Thalia.

"You little-" I almost uncapped Riptide, ready to show them what it could really do, but just then, Gabe returned with my mother. She was staring at the ground, so I had no idea what had gone on between her and Gabe.

"So how are the little ones getting along?" Gabe said.

"Oh just great, daddy," Thalia smiled back sweetly. Well, as sweetly as she could.

"You know I don't like you sucking up to me. Now come on, Sally here needs to go get started at her new jobs if we are planning on having anything besides chips for dinner."

What? We just got here! We hadn't even seen where we were going to be staying. Plus, _jobs?_ As in, more than one? My mom should be treated like the royalty, even if she wasn't a queen anymore. Everyone always loved her, even if they didn't know she was the queen!

We walked up to a store that smelled like everything good in the world. _Sweet on Athens _said the sign. Underneath was another sign that said 'Help Wanted'.

"Here's where you'll start. Bye Sally." And with that, we walked off, grabbing my wrist so I wouldn't run back. I turned and mouthed, Good Luck, at her. She gave me a grim smile before walking in.

"Now that she's out of the way, let's take you home punk," Gabe said, with Thalia and Nico smirking right behind him.

We continued walking until we got to the far side of the city. When we finally stopped, it was in front of the messiest house I had ever seen. Beer cans and old wine bottle littered the small, dead yard. There wasn't a green plant in sight. The house looked like it could have been elegant, with two stories and lots of windows, but was so old and destroyed, that none of this made it look anywhere close to elegant.

"Well here's the place. Thalia and Nico, go get attic ready for Sally and _our prince_."

"Fine," they signed, slumping off to do what he said.

"And here's your job." He handed me a broom, mop, bucket, paint, and paintbrush. "Get started. I expect to see this place perfect within the week. If not, you won't live to see the next morning." He laughed like a drunken goat (which he might actually be…) as he walked inside. "Oh, and when you're done out here, there's always the inside."

Ugh…this was going to be a long 5 years.


	2. Letter at Breakfast

**Here's chapter 2! Sorry I couldn't get it up sooner… I had tests in every class, then two TAKS tests back to back! Evil teachers… :) here though, it's nothing major yet. I did make it really long though, I hope it makes up. Even if it's a little slow… oh ya. So sorry to Nyxchick who I told I would have this out a lot sooner…things came up and I didn't have time. I was up until 1:00 a.m. as it was doing homework, and then waking up at 6. So ya, please don't get mad though and stop reading!**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I own nothing PJO, Subway, Cinderella, or Starbucks related. I do own the idea behind this story however ( I hope). **

PERCYS POV

_Five years later_

"PERCY! Where is my breakfast? You cannot expect me to be heading to town _hungry."_

Ugh… I glanced out my window to see that it was almost dawn. Thalia loved getting to town early so that she and some others could pull a few pranks without getting caught.

"Coming Thalia! You want eggs and bacon?" I shouted back. I sat rolled off of the lumpy mattress that was my bed, and started to get dressed.

"Whatever, just hurry up!" she yelled. Fine, what did it matter to me what she ate?

I threw on one of the five t-shirts I owned, and a pair of jeans that didn't look too dirty. I quickly grabbed my only pair of sneakers and raced to go find the materials needed for breakfast. Let's see, what did mom put on the bacon to make it taste good…Tears started to well in my eyes as I thought of her.

Six months ago, my mother had been hit by the plague. No matter how much I pleaded, Gabe refused to call a doctor to help. So, while my mother stayed in our shared bed, I worked her shifts _and_ my house jobs. That meant working shifts at the candy shop Sweet on Athens, the new sandwich shop Heroway, and the local coffee shop Moonbucks, along with cleaning the floors, dishes, cooking, laundry, groceries, and caring for the small farm my mom had started. (She started the farm to help make a little more money to support Gabe's gambling.) I tried to do everything I could to help her, but three weeks later, she died. Gabe didn't have as much as a second glance for her. So, with the help of my best friend/ neighbor Grover, I buried my mother next to the flower garden in the back. We said a few words, and I told him that now she was with my father.

After she died, I became the _servant_ to our 'family'. Imagine that, from prince to servant. So it was my job to do things like collecting the eggs for breakfast, and fetching the bacon from the ice box.

I grabbed my basket and went to the little farm in our backyard. On my way to the hen house, I grabbed some seed. As I walked in the henhouse, I spread some seed in a pile near the back. This way, the hens would all rush to the back, while I grabbed some eggs. As soon as the nearest nests were empty, I grabbed 7 eggs and placed them in my basket. Two eggs each for Thalia, Nico, and Gabe, and, if they didn't catch me, one for me.

After I left the hen house, I set the basket by the back door and grabbed 2 buckets and a little spiral thing. Surprisingly, we had a maple tree in our backyard, and the sap from it made bacon taste heavenly. I set down the buckets near the tree and took out Riptide. Oddly enough, Riptide always seemed to appear in my pocket in pen form. Once, Nico had tried taking it to see how easily it could be broken, but the next morning, Riptide was back in my pocket completely unharmed.

Uncapping Riptide, I made a little hole in the tree and stuck the spiral thing in it. Soon, little bits of sap started to drip out, so I kicked one of the buckets under to catch the drops. While that was going, I went to our orange tree with the other basket. As I started to climb the tree looking for good oranges, I thought of how funny it was when my mom had dyed the orange juice blue once. While blue food was common in Atlantis, it apparently made people want to gag in Athens. I grabbed three oranges and placed them in the basket. Huh… I truly missed my mom. She was the only one who really got me and didn't call me 'punk' or 'wimpy' at least once a day. She made things okay just by being in the same room. I grabbed another orange. Come on, Percy. You're almost 16, and there is no reason to be crying on this particular morning. Just 2 more weeks, and then you will be out of here.

I kept repeating that last line over to myself as I finished picking oranges. When my bucket was full, I climbed down the tree and went to get the bucket of sap. The bucket of sap was over half full, so I took out the spiral thing and put a rock in the little hole. One good thing about this sap, was that it lasted for over a week in the ice box.

Grabbing my basket and two buckets, I ran inside the house to find Thalia just coming down the stairs. She had just finished washing, so she had no makeup on and her hair was a mess. In other words, she looked like a half-drowned cat.

I grabbed a pitcher and started to squeeze the oranges.

"You're lucky I still have to finish getting ready, Fish-boy." This was her and Nico's little nickname for me. They started calling me 'Fish-boy' ever since they found out that I would go swimming in the river at least once a day.

"Just go and finish up, Thalia. I'm almost done with breakfast anyways," I said as I squeezed the last orange. After filling up three cups, I placed them on the table. I grabbed a pan and cracked 6 of the 7 eggs into it. I hid the last one behind the pitcher, so Thalia wouldn't see that I had taken one for myself. After throwing the eggshells in the trashcan, I gently placed the pan on our one burner stove.

"You shouldn't talk to me like that; you know what _Daddy_ would say to you. Fine though, I need to go steal more ink from the 'study' anyways." She walked down the hall and disappeared. See Gabe's 'study' wasn't really a study. More like a room where Gabe could play poker, store his dirty shoes, and hook up with girls he would somehow manage to bring home. Me, I'm just surprised that people still come out of it alive.

"Shesh," I mumbled. Did she ever just let things go? So what if I'm supposed to treat her like royalty? She doesn't deserve it. All of them don't…but I have no choice. I have to, or risk never waking up the next morning. I know that some of Gabe's 'friends' sell the deadliest poisons known to mankind. I've seen them, and the people they were used on.

I stirred the eggs, so they wouldn't burn. Quickly then, I ran down to our ice box in the basement and grabbed a couple slices of bacon. I sprinted back upstairs to find the eggs done. I scooped them out of the pan, and placed them in an old wooden bowl on the table. Since the pan was still hot, I decided to cook the bacon in it. Hey, it saved me from having to wash more dishes later.

Soon, the bacon was sizzling, and that too I moved to the wooden bowl. Just as I was setting down three plates, Gabe walked in dragging Thalia by her arm.

"Why you little…You know never to come in there! EVER! Lucky I was sleeping in there after my poker game last night…who knows how many times you've been sneaking in there? I outta-"

"Hey, breakfast's ready!" I tried to say as cheerfully as possible. "Come on, before it gets cold." If they think im making this again, then they are completely mistaken.

"Whatever, punk," Gabe sneered at me. "Thalia, you've lucked out. Even though breakfast's ready, you're still grounded. No leaving this house. If you disobey, then you have to help the kid with his chores." He started wolfing down the bacon. Thalia grabbed one piece and slumped off to her room.

"Whatimiss…"Nico mumbled as he came downstairs.

"Bacon" gabe replied.

"Wha…Wait what? You made bacon without me? Aw…" Nico walked over and sat down in a chair. He grabbed as much of the eggs as he could before pushing the bowl over to Gabe.

"Hey punk. Did you grab the mail yet?" gabe said as he finished his breakfast. "I have some important mail coming today." Ya right. He said that ever day to make me go get it, even if it turned out to be bills and taxes. (That _I _had to pay, by the way.)

"No…I'll go do that now," I said walking out the front door. The post office was three blocks away from our house, a short walk compared to some of the places that I had to work at. Absentmindedly, I wondered what would be there today. Maybe a car magazine… a bill or two…death threat because Gabe owes them money… who knows?

I walked past a few closed down stores. We didn't live in a very populated part of Athens, so businesses didn't normally survive here. I passed the library, Moonbucks, and trash collecting facility before reaching the post office. Walking inside, I found one of the postmen, a teen named Travis Stoll, fast asleep, leaning on the counter. A little drool started running done the side of his face.

"Travis! Hey, wake up man."

"Uurrgll…" was his response.

"TRAVIS!"

"I didn't take it!" he yelled, suddenly waking up. "Oh, it's you Percy. Sorry Conner hasn't been able to make it to your house anytime this week. He got his leg chewed out by a huge guard dog. We, uh, were running a little low this week and needed food so ya…"

"I get it. At least you two have the best talent for stealing things that I've ever seen. I kind of have to get back to Gabe now…So can I have my mail?" I asked.

"Sure, one moment." He disappeared into the back. " Here you are." He handed me a few envelopes.

"Thanks, man. See you tomorrow, and I hope Conner gets better."

"See ya, Perce," he yelled as I walked out the door.

Walking home now, I decided to see what we got. Bill…letter for Thalia… Bill… Bill… Heroway coupon… Bill… wait, what's this? I pulled out a thin, stony gray envelope. I opened it and started to read…

"GABE!" I yelled, and sprinted the rest of the way home. They were not going to believe this.

ANNABETH'S POV

_Previous night_

"Annabeth, you must. The kingdom of Athens depends on it. I know that you don't want to end up like Prince Perseus, kicked out of his own kingdom," Queen Athena, told me.

"Mother, why must I have to _marry_ to take the throne? You're still unmarried as it is. I know you had me before Father died, but you never decided to marry another. Yet, here you are as queen," I said back.

"That was my choice, but you have no say in the matter. Sir Luke has been staying with us for over a fortnight, and has proven himself to be worthy enough to rule with you." Sir Luke was this knight around four years or so older than my age of 16 and 4 days. (I couldn't take the throne yet because I was female and unmarried.) He was tall, with a nice tan and sandy blond hair. He had startling blue eyes that would make any girl want to stay with him forever. The only thing that ruined his seemingly perfect look, was a big, jagged scar running from his right eye down to the edge of his jaw. Even though he seemed perfect, I didn't want him. And not because of the big scar or anything. It's just, I couldn't see myself with him. He was a man I could simply be good friends with, not married to for the rest of my life.

"Mother I don't like Sir Luke like that, nor will I ever."

"I don't care. You must marry before taking the throne. If it's not Sir Luke…well, I know many other worthy suitors that would be just as happy to rule with you," she said sternly. "Unless, of course, you've met someone else?" She looked over at me, her steely gray eyes boring me down.

"Sort of. I've been seeing someone in my dreams. At first, it was only once a month or so. Then, as my 16th birthday approached, they became more frequent and clearer. You always told me how our dreams are visions of real life, and things to come. I believe this man to be within this very city. I'm at lost though on how to find him…What should I do?" I had no taste in traveling around to find a man, even my dream man, when I was the only one that would be able to tell if it was truly him.

"We'll have a ball," she said, like it should have been the most obvious idea ever. "All the eligible young men in the kingdom will be invited. That evening, you will find the man you will marry. But if your dream man doesn't show, you will marry Sir Luke. Understand?"

"Um…I guess. When shall it be?" I asked.

"In three days time. We shall host it in the grand ballroom. Where is our Grand Duchess? I'll need her to send out the invitations right away."

"I'll go get her, mother." I walked out of the study that we had been discussing in. "RACHEL, MOTHER NEEDS YOU!" I yelled as loud as I could. My voice echoed around the castle, causing all the servants nearby to look around to see if there was any way they could help me.

"Ugh, need you yell, Princess Annabeth? I told you that I would be right down the hall," Rachel said. She was clutching the edge of her sleeve of her dress, stopping what looked suspiciously like paint brushes from falling out. When she wasn't scribing things for my mother, she was painting. I'd seen her art store in town, and let me say, it was something else. She made the most beautiful portraits, capturing hidden beauty, and the most realistic landscapes as if you were looking out of a window. We even bought a few of her paintings for the castle, not realizing that they were hers. ( Mother didn't know of her painting, and would surely throw her out if she found out. She prefers gray above all. I was the only one, besides a few other servants, who knew of her painting.)

"Come on, and don't let those brushes slip. I've gotten used to having you around." She blushed down at that last comment. I guess being a Duchess doesn't get you recognized often. I grabbed her sleeve and pulled her into the study.

"Here, I found her mother."

"Duchess," my mother nodded towards her. Besides the painting thing, my mother has never fully liked Rachel. For some reason though, she always calls her to run errands or perform other tasks. Go figure.

"What shall I scribe for thee?" Rachel said, pulling a pad of paper and a charcoal pencil out of her pocket.

" How about _To all eligible persons within the ages of 15 and 20…_"

PERCY'S POV

"…_you are hereby invited to attend the royal ball in honor of Princess Annabeth, in the hope that she shall find a man worthy enough to serve with her as king. All attire is formal. The ball will take place in three days time, on the night of the full moon. ~Queen Athena," _I finished.

I looked down at the three stunned faces staring at me from the breakfast table. Gabe had a piece of bacon hanging out of his mouth, and Nico looked at me with a dreamy look now on his face. I knew he, like many others, had a huge crush on Princess Annabeth. I for one, had never seen her in the past years while living here. Maybe at a feast when I was a prince…but that was so long ago. She could have been the one with the stunning black hair, or maybe the beautiful, curly blonde. I liked that blonde; the way she held herself made you feel like you could do anything by her side. She was supposed to be the smartest woman ever, since her mother. Aw well. Not like I would ever be able to see her again.

"So when are we going to buy new clothes for this?" Nico asked, snapping out of his daze. I just stared at the boy. Apparently Thalia had the same thought.

"You? Shopping for clothes? That's about as possibly as Fish Boy here ever accomplishing anything with his life," Thalia said, sneering in my direction. Okay, so maybe not the same thought.

"Well both of you brats are going to need new clothes. Nico needs to win the heart of the Princess, and if that doesn't work, Thalia needs to get that visiting knight to like her. If I'm gonna get you all pampered up using my gambling money, then you have to try yourselves," Gabe said. He turned his head, looking at both of them.

"Fine," they both said in unison. Then they ran up the stairs, pushing each other out of the way to get up there first. Sooooo mature, right?

"Uh, Gabe. You only mentioned the two of them. Since I'm between 15 and 20 and still eligible, doesn't that mean I get to go?" I asked, hopefully. This ball could change everything. I could talk to Queen Athena about heading back to Atlantis early…

"Are you kidding? Now that there's this ball-thingy to prepare for, there's more work than ever to be done! I'm going to need you to work your butt off even more. So move it, pork-chop. I have to take your step-_sisters_ out shopping." Gabe pushed past me before I could respond, and went to go grab his not-so-secret-but-you'll-die-if-you-touch-it stash of gambling money. I'll give you a hint about where it is.

"Punk, why'd ya touch my beer! It's supposed to stay on the left side of the icebox," yelled Gabe from below.

Well, I had three more days before the ball. Hopefully things would work out.

Probably not.

**Thx for reading through this. I know it was kinda boring….sorry, but it introduced some other characters and got the invite sent out! That's sort of good. Anyway, if you read this, I want a review. There really helpful and give me more encouragement to get the next chapter out. I have tons of stuff going on but they make me feel like im gonna let a bunch of people down if I don't post….anyways, please review :) **


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